Separation Sensations

Credit the Cardinals and Phillies -- and to some extent the Yankees -- for not setting the cruise control.

As the regular season heads into the stretch run, these clubs not only retained a firm hold on their respective division leads, they also created some separation by winning key series after key series while the chasers faltered.

The Cardinals might be the most underrated club in baseball. Since late July -- after being swept by the Astros and losing two of three to Philadelphia -- the Cards haven't lost a series. That's eight series victories and one 2-game split with the Mets. And they're set up well for the postseason. Three Cardinals starters -- Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter and Joel Pineiro -- have 13 or more wins, and closer Ryan Franklin is doing what a closer is paid to do -- he's converted 34 of 36 save opportunities while posting a 1.07 ERA.

Meanwhile, the veteran-laden Phils and Yanks have responded to surges from the Marlins and Red Sox, respectively, with solid starting pitching and timely hitting. Neither Philly nor New York looks as though it will be shifting into neutral until the division race is settled.

Tip of the Cup. A belated tip to Giants catcher Bengie Molina for providing the best impression yet of Kirk Gibson circa 1988. With San Francisco trailing Arizona 4-1 in the eighth inning on Wednesday night, Molina, nursing a quadriceps injury, came limping up to the plate as a pinch hitter and smacked a three-run homer. An honorary doff to Giants skipper Bruce Bochy for knowing -- and playing -- the numbers, and sending Molina up there.

Speaking of cups ...

Lately, my 4-year-old son has taken to whacking me square in the junk whenever the mood strikes him (and usually when I'm least expecting it). I imagine it's much like those clips you see on Funniest Home Videos, although I can assure you that when you're the victim, laughing is not an optional reaction.

One particular incident occurred on a recent road trip when we stopped off for some Mickey Ds (my son's choice). After hours of driving, I was pretty jacked up about getting some McChicken and chocolate shake in my belly when out of nowhere, my little buddy stopped, turned and connected flush on the sack of stones. Needless to say, the pain was unbearable and instantly cured my longing for fast food (or any food).

Later that day, when the incident (not the pain) was all but forgotten, my wife casually said to me, "You need to start wearing a protective cup."

Thanks, Dear.

LOBs, RISP and a bunch of BS. The "bizarro" Yankees compiled 13 LOBs and went 0-for-9 with RISP in their 14-1 loss to Boston. The most prominent BS artist of the day was Tampa Bay's J.P. Howell with his sixth of the season (although the Rays won). Seattle's Mark Lowe also got his sixth BS, but this dude's obviously not a closer. His career line: 12 save opportunities, two saves.

Seeing Red

Red is the new black.

Several major league baseball clubs have taken a liking to the color red, much the same as they all seemed to favor black not too long ago. It's rather annoying watching some of these teams gradually work their way from small touches of red in their logo to red trim in the uniforms to full-on solid-red jerseys.

Teams with strong traditions such as the Braves, Pirates, Indians and Red Sox have resorted to pimping their product behind a color that was never intended by their creators to be primary. It's truly a sad state of affairs.

With other clubs such as the Astros and Rangers, both of which seem to have a new look every five years, we've come to expect such uniform experiments. In the case of the Arizona Diamondbacks, we may not care, but I for one am curious why they chose red when it wasn't in the mix originally. And I happened to like that sharp purple-teal-black-and-gold ensemble they entered the league with.

I suppose we should prepare ourselves for the Padres and White Sox -- two more fickle clubs inclined to make drastic changes -- to follow the red suit in the near future, although those pesky South-Siders are one team that actually did away with red to return to a more traditional -- and much better -- look.

Beantown Brawl

Kevin Youkilis' scuffle with Detroit's Rick Porcello tonight will not go down as one of the all-time great mound-charges, but it does spark some fond memories of ill-advised visits to the hill (forgive me if the details of these recollections are a bit fuzzy):

• Indians manager Pat Corrales gets (single-punch) decked by A's pitcher Dave Stewart
• Young White Sox third baseman Robin Ventura takes a skull-beating from middle-aged Rangers pitcher Nolan Ryan
• Three steps into his mound-sprint, Cincinnati's Paul Wilson gets steamrolled and pulverized by Cubs pitcher Kyle Farnsworth
• White Sox slugger George Bell swings at (and misses) Red Sox pitcher Aaron Sele a fraction of a second before getting tatooed by Boston's Mo Vaughn

Tip of the Cup. Boston's Mike Lowell, who was slated for a night off, replaced Youkilis and smacked two homers to help the Red Sox win. Abbreviated doffs to Florida's Dan Uggla (game-winning hit in 11th) and the Dodgers' Matt Kemp, whose clutch hitting the past two nights have helped silence the normally boisterous Giants' faithful.

50-50 BS. That's right. Half the save situations (five of 10) Tuesday were blown, including the seventh BS of the season by Philadelphia's Brad Lidge, who last year was 41-for-41. Here are the other four: Jesse Carlson, Blue Jays (3); David Aardsma, Mariners (3); Jeff Fulchino, Astros (2); Leo Nunez, Marlins (4).

Two For the Show

Those much-discussed offseason acquisitions by the Yankees are looking awfully smart now. A.J. Burnett (one hit allowed in 7 2/3 innings) and C.C. Sabathia (two hits allowed in 7 2/3) showed flashes of brilliance the past two nights, handcuffing the rival Red Sox and padding the Bombers' lead in the AL East.

With Andy Pettitte's seven shutout innings in the series finale tonight, the Yankees staff held a potent Boston lineup scoreless for 31 consecutive innings on the way to a crucial four-game sweep. Kudos to the Bronx bats as well for outscoring the Sox 25-8 in the series.

Tip of the Cup. Gotta hand it to the Marlins (Hanley Ramirez, 4-for-6, 3 RBI) and the Rockies (Todd Helton, 3-for-4, 2 RBI) for coming to play, the former lambasting the World Champion Phillies to stay in the NL East race and the latter clocking the Cubs to stay even with the Giants for the NL wild card lead.

Rivalry BS. Four of 10 save situations were not converted Sunday: Ryan Perry, Tigers (2); Daniel Bard, Red Sox (2); Phil Coke, Yankees (5); Matt Capps, Pirates (3).

Pennant Fever

There's still a long way to go, but we're seeing some good baseball lately. With so many teams still in contention, each game becomes more important than the last, even more so when you've got an epic Yankees-Red Sox matchup as each tries to take control of the AL East and the Cards and Cubs play see-saw with the NL Central lead or upstarts such as the Giants and Rockies (as well as several other potential contenders) go at it for the NL wild card.

Maybe it's just me, but I can't recall in the past 10 or so years a more intriguing stretch run with as many teams involved in the race. This is baseball at its best.

Tip of the Cup. Clutch hitting by Kosuke Fukudome and Derrek Lee, a solid outing from Ryan Dempster and some nifty glovework by Ryan Theriot led the Cubs over the Rockies and kept them on pace with the NL Central-leading Cardinals and the wild-card-leading Giants. Special mention to the Giants' Bengie Molina for answering the critics with his 3-for-4, three-RBI performance from the cleanup spot.

Bombers Away!

Take that, Sox Nation.

With Muhammad Ali in the house, the Yankees sent a message to the Red Sox on Thursday: Let's get it on! Then, they backed it up with an old-fashioned 13-6 thumping. But, it was the Bombers' first victory over Boston this season, and if they have any plans on delivering a knockout blow in the AL East, they're going to have to figure out how to beat the Red Sox consistently -- or at least more frequently. For now, it's a heckuva start.

Dialing the clone phone. I've been resisting this one for some time because it's a bit of a stretch. But what the heck, let's go with it. Giants ace Tim Lincecum is showing flashes of Orel Hershiser (and something tells me he once idolized the Bulldog). He's got the jersey number (55), the lean frame, the wicked stuff and even recently acquired a pet bulldog. Now, if he could only lead his ballclub to a World Series title. Stay tuned ...

Average BS. Three out of seven save situations were blown Thursday: Brian Sanches, Marlins (2); Jesse Chavez, Pirates (3); Rafael Soriano, Braves (3).

Waking Up Sleeping Giants

With Giants catcher Bengie Molina slumping, talking heads in these parts were taking issue with the club's cleanup spot (What to do? What to do?). Really, what the Giants offense has been lacking most this season is a catalyst -- someone to get on base, to get to the opposing pitcher early, to shake things up.

Enter Eugenio Velez. The second-year player has been on tear like nobody's business. After his 3-for-6 performance tonight, he's riding an 11-game hitting streak during which he's had eight multiple-hit games and is batting .448. Although he walks too infrequently for a leadoff man, his on-base percentage has been on a consistent rise. With a little work, Velez could be the answer to that catalyst problem.

Tip of the Cup. It didn't figure in the outcome of the Cardinals' extra-inning win over the Mets, but Albert Pujols' 10th-inning grand slam -- his NL record-tying fifth of the season -- is still worth a hearty tip. Special mention for the Rays' Evan Longoria, who homered twice -- once to tie it in the eighth and again to win it in the 13th -- against Boston.

Blowing in the wind. Of seven potential saves Tuesday, four floated away with the evening breeze. The culprits: Daniel Bard, Red Sox (1); John Bale, Royals (4); Kiko Calero, Marlins (2); Francisco Rodriguez, Mets (4).

In Good Company as a Lefty-Righty

All through youth baseball, high school ball and even junior college, I got some funky looks from teammates and friends when I strode up to the left side of the plate. Typically, the reaction went something like, "Wait, what the hell are you doing, Guido? I thought you were right-handed." To which I would respond with a shrug and say, "Look, this is the way I hit, OK? I don't know why, so just pitch the friggin' ball already!"

It turns out I wasn't as much of a freak as my friends thought (at least not within the confines of baseball). Some of the greatest hitters of all-time were Bats: Left-Throws: Right guys. Have a look-see:

• Ted Williams. Hall of Famer, two-time AL MVP (1946, 1949), 17-time All-Star, six-time AL batting champion, .344 career batting average, last player to hit .400 for a season (.406 in 1941)
• Ty Cobb. Hall of Famer, 1911 AL MVP, 11-time AL batting champion, .366 career batting average, 4,191 career hits
• George Brett. Hall of Famer, 1980 AL MVP, 13-time All-Star, three-time AL batting champion, .305 career batting average, 3,154 career hits
• Rod Carew. Hall of Famer, 1977 AL MVP, 18-time All-Star, seven-time AL batting champion, .328 career batting average, 3,053 career hits
• Wade Boggs. Hall of Famer, 12-time All-Star, five-time AL batting champion, .328 career batting average, 3,010 career hits

Not to mention some of today's stars:

• Jim Thome. Five-time All-Star, 2003 ML HR champion (47), 559 career homers
• Ichiro Suzuki. 2001 AL MVP, nine-time All-Star, three-time AL batting champion, five-time ML hits leader (on his way to a sixth), .333 career batting average
• Jason Giambi. 2000 AL MVP, five-time All-Star, 407 career homers
• Chase Utley. Four-time All-Star, four straight seasons of 100-plus RBIs (on his way to a fifth), .299 career batting average
• Prince Fielder. Two-time All-Star, 2007 NL home run champion (50), 140 career HRs in less than four full seasons

Shorten the Season; Pardon Pete

If I were baseball commissioner, I would ...

• Reduce the regular season to 120 games (if interleague play suffers, so be it)
• Grant a pardon to Pete Rose, provisionally lifting his lifetime ban and letting the Hall of Fame members committee decide whether he should be enshrined
• Make it a uniform rule that pants and shoes must never be touching (first offense, $10,000 fine; second offense, 15-game suspension; third offense, lifetime ban)
• Henceforth, the Home Run Derby has no more than two contestants -- the HR leader from each league -- and consists of one round (when two or more players from the same league are tied, the one with fewer at-bats gets the nod)
• Bring the kids back to the ballpark without making their parents pay. Make it a leaguewide rule (no exceptions) that all children 12 and under are admitted free to the bleachers on Saturdays and Sundays.

Tip of the Cup. Trailing by a run in the bottom of the ninth, Marlins Dan Uggla and Cody Ross belted back-to-back homers on consecutive pitches from the Cubs' Kevin Gregg to give Florida the win. A slight tip to the Yankees' Melky Cabrera for his cycle in a victory over the White Sox and a reluctant doff to the Red Sox for their 18-run, 23-hit display in keeping pace with New York.

Typical BS. Thanks to the Cubs' bullpen meltdown, it turned out to be a decent BS day. Four of 10 save situations were blown: Joe Beimel, Rockies (5); Claudio Vargas, Brewers (1); Aaron Heilman, Cubs (6); Kevin Gregg, Cubs (5).

'I Get Nowhere Unless the Team Wins'

Rumor has it the following commercial is in the works (although only for selected cable TV viewers):

• A re-creation of the Al Capone "baseball" scene from "The Untouchables," featuring A's general manager Billy Beane in Robert De Niro's stead as Capone and Oakland manager Bob Geren as the poor sap on the receiving end of Beane's ire. ...

I'll just leave it at that.

Tip of the Cup. Have a day, Andrew McCutchen. The Pittsburgh rookie treated the hometown fans to something they hadn't witnessed in 22 years: a three-homer game by one of their own. The Pirates leadoff man added a fourth hit and tied a team-high for the season with six RBIs. Abbreviated doffs to the Giants' Tim Lincecum and the Cardinals' Matt Holliday, both of whom turned in clutch performances for their playoff-contending clubs.

Save the save; invest in holds. Four of 10 save situations were squandered Saturday: Fernando Rodney, Tigers (1); Bobby Parnell, Mets (4); Kevin Gregg, Cubs (4); Greg Burke, Padres (2).